Fruition 2.0

By Penmom

As you well know, the usual things apply. This is my sequel to my other D/X fic - Dawn's Hero. It is post-BtVS; so it is obviously AU. You may or may not know that this is my second version of Fruition. I really liked how the piece started out but as I continued I felt like I was losing track of Dawn and Xander's characters. I thought to myself - it's your show (for once) just change it and so I have begun again. The story will be similar but hopefully cleaner and clearer. Premise - Dawn and Xander find out more than they wanted to know about the Key and its implications about their future. Let me know what you think, especially if you read Dawn's Hero or Fruition 1.0.

Chapter 1 - Seattle Fall 2008

She is desperately trying to finish this last chapter but the colorful umbrellas outside in the gray drizzle continue to capture her attention. There is something so soothing about the rain. Especially when you're curled up all cozy and warm.

The window seat is probably her favorite spot in the whole house with its overstuffed chintz cushions and its view of the street below. With a good cup of tea and her mom's old afghan, she could stay here all afternoon.

Without thought, she weaves her fingers through the holes in the afghan just like she did when she was a little girl. When Willow gave her the blanket last Christmas, she couldn't believe it. She had long ago resigned herself to the fact that they had all lost so much that day - that the material objects just couldn't factor into the grief she felt - still feels. Mourning childhood toys and yearbooks seemed a little trite when people were dead.

But when she opened the package, the rush of home was bittersweet and instantaneous. She keenly remembered holding the black and purple knit up to her face and actually inhaling her mother's scent. Willow explained that she had checked out all the reasons not to - before deciding to pull something out of the past for everybody. What had she said - 'something to hold on to"? Giles had thought it would be OK but he probably just didn't give a damn at this point.

It seemed like - careful or not - bad things would invariably happen. So, you might as well walk under all the ladders that you please and if you feel like it, break mirrors every day of the week. Good and bad rained down at random - or perhaps not? Anyhow, the grand plan is a lot bigger than she could ever hope to see from her little perch. She learned a long time ago to grab the good with both hands and fight like hell to keep it.

Back to The Fountainhead - why on earth did she decide to take Mid- Twentieth Century Classics 305? It seemed like a good idea way back in April when she registered. Oh well, she's been through worse things! What an understatement, she thinks.

She jumps at the sound of the jigsaw coming from upstairs. No matter how many times she hears it, it still grates on her nerves. Again, there are worse things - and the good things that come from the things that Xander makes with his hands provide them with this nice, cozy life where she really doesn't have to worry about money or demons or anything like that. OK, sometimes, she kind of misses that living on the edge feeling but not often.

After that Sunnydale was swallowed up, they had all stuck together for a time. Ultimately ending up at Kennedy's parents' house in the Hamptons. It was huge and empty since her parents were in Italy for the entire summer. For a couple weeks, it seemed like they all just slept and then, slowly, real life called. Faith and Wood left together - to only God knows where. Many of the girls went back to their homes. A few stayed, sticking close to Giles and Buffy.

Giles spent hours and hours on the phone before finally flying back to London. Her relationship with Xander had slowly come out in the open that summer so when Buffy, Willow and the remaining Slayers joined Giles, it was kind of understood that she and Xander would stay back.

The Watchers Guild had practically unlimited resources and in the end, Giles was the headman. He quickly begin to reshape the Guild into something more useful to the multiple of slayers on the horizon. Buffy and Willow fell into his plan comfortably.

In the late spring of 2004, Buffy awoke one morning to find a newly human Spike on her doorstep. By noon that day they had eloped to Scotland and by Christmas there were twin nephews on the way. Both working for Giles, they had settled into an alarmingly domestic routine.

Yes, it all seemed to fall into place. Once they were alone, they realized that they could do whatever they pleased. Eventually that meant, buying this loft in Seattle with space to live and to work. Xander had started making furniture just to stay busy but it had fast turned into an art form. He had a wait list of several years for some of his pieces. Even Hollywood types were waiting for hutches and coffee tables! Xander would often joke about how the whole coffee table thing started.

After being a bum for a good while, she had started college. Xander could care less if she even finished but now, she was a semester away from her BA in Comparative Literature.

Giving up on the book, she rises, it was about time for dinner anyway. Time to pull Xander away from his work and see about getting some food.

TBC